1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is concerned with a device for receiving die cut board sheets and forming a stack or pile of blanks within at least one magazine which device includes means to retain a pile of blanks being formed as a previously formed pile is removed from the device.
2. Prior Art
Presently known blank stacking devices utilize a device for receiving the individual blanks and for retaining them in stacks or piles within a magazine. The magazines of the device are usually formed by wall members having spaced parallel wall surfaces which act as front and rear surfaces of the chamber of each of the adjacent magazines. These devices are usually provided with a plurality of fingers which are mounted for pivoting movement on a bottom surface of the wall members with the plurality of fingers being controlled collectively by a common pull rod to pivot them between an "off" position and an "on" position. While in the "off" position, the bars of each of the fingers do not protrude passed the wall surfaces into either of the chambers. When pivoted to an "on" position, the bars extend substantially perpendicular to the wall surfaces and into the chambers so as to form a partial grid or gate. The partial grid or gate will thus receive additional blanks being deposited in each of the chambers during the time when a previously formed pile is being removed from the bottom of the magazine. The operation and structure of the above described grid or gate is contained in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,870,213 issued on Mar. 11, 1975.
The reliability of magazines which receive and form piles of blanks which are provided with the above described grids or gates does not always live up to all expectations. For example, when handling die cut blanks formed of thin sheet material, the blank may become wedged between one or more of the fingers or bars and the bottom surface of the wall member. This will particularly happen when the fingers are being retracted to the "off" position and will cause a sheet having its edge wedged between the fingers and the bottom surface of the wall member to become jammed in the magazine. A jamming of the sheet not only impairs the piling or stacking operation, but will necessitate the shutting down of the entire stacking device until the jammed sheet is removed.